With a No vote Scotland can have the best of both worlds – my Daily Record article

In ten days people across Scotland will make an irreversible choice.

The choice on the ballot paper is simple – “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

I understand why many Scots are frustrated by the callous unfairness of David Cameron’s Tory-led government. So am I. But voting for independence is not a protest vote. It’s a permanent and deeply risky decision to leave the UK.

And let me be clear – a no vote is not a vote for no change.

It is a vote for more powers for the Scottish Parliament. All the political parties now agree on this.

And I can give people across Scotland my personal guarantee that as Chancellor in the next Labour Government, I’ll oversee a further and big transfer of financial powers from the Treasury to the Scottish Government.

That’s real powers to improve people’s lives, create jobs and make Scotland an even better and more prosperous place to live.

Scotland can and will have the best of both worlds – with a strong Scottish Parliament backed up by the strength and security of being part of the United Kingdom.

And we won’t stop there.

The SNP want to say they are the party of change and social justice. But people can see that’s just not true.

We’re offering change that will redistribute from those at the top to the majority of working people.

A 50p tax on people earning more than £150,000 and a lower 10p starting rate for low and middle earners.

An energy price freeze, scrapping the bedroom tax and a job for all young people out of work for a year or more funded by a tax on bankers’ bonuses.

This stands in contrast to the SNP, whose only redistributive policy is a 3p cut in corporation tax which takes money from the majority and hands it to big companies.

That’s not real change. That’s more of the same from the SNP.

Alex Salmond now needs to be clear with Scots about what his plans for independence mean.

Throughout this campaign there have been no answers from him on the currency, the cost of living, or how he will fund Scotland’s NHS and schools.

The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies says independence means £6 billion of cuts. That will fall on our public services, schools and the NHS.

Scotland can have real change. With a ‘no’ vote next Thursday and the election of a Labour government next May. I don’t have a vote. But I really want Scotland to stay.

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Posted September 8th, 2014 by Ed

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